Remembering the Indian TV ads...

Like it or loathe it, advertisements play an integral part in every medium. Be it radio, TV, newspapers or magazines...advertisements have to be there. You need no high IQ to realize that every medium thrives on the revenue generated by ads. Today, I am going to enlist some of my favorite current and old classic TV ads that have remained my all-time favorites since I started watching TV. So watch the videos and enjoy!!!




(I just used to love that granny...a jolly good old lady and I would imitate her everytime after watching the ad)



(Justloved it for no apparent reason...it's just that the ad still remains fresh in my mind)



(I guess no one could capture the true picture of India and it's psyche the way Bajaj did)



(The old couple looked so cute...I especially liked the scene where the granny blushes when her abhi toh main jawaan hoon husband gifts her the diamond ring)



(Very witty...How I wish I could come up with such concepts)



(This ad captures the essence of one of India's recent revolution...the white revolution, just love the rustic feel of the song)



(This is my recent fav ad)




(good way of catching fishes naa?? Loved the expression of both the characters)



(I am still a complan girl :))



(Simply cute...I still say jalebee the way this kid does)


Note: Soon to come...my fav hoardings and print ads...

A random post...

Since I was doing nothing good, I browsed through some websites and chanced upon this voting thing on yahoo. Yahoo had chosen some 6 famous nominees for the 'person who has created maximum impact and won respect from the public'. Before opening the link, I thought there would be some really deserving person in the list but to my disappointment there was only one out of those six nominees who according to me really made an impact or won hearts of the public. The nominees were:

1) Mahendra Singh Dhoni

2) Rahul Gandhi

3) Ratan Tata

4) Katrina Kaif

5) P Chidambaram

6) Mayawati

I thought that Indian public would be intelligent enough to vote Tata as the ideal candidate coz he's such a gem of a man. Atleast I voted for him. But the results showed otherwise.

I have pasted the link of the result...u can have a look at it. You will realize that 75% of Indian public can't think of anything beyond cricket icons and bollywood heroines as role models or idols.

Here's the link: http://in.specials.yahoo.com/new-year-2009/nominations.php

Me and recession

Note: I am not writing to gain any kind of sympathies or empathies. I am writing this coz...well coz at this moment I have nothing better to do.

Since two months, I have been reading a lot about recession in US and it's aftermath in India. I would read it as a matter of fact. I would just nod my head, swear the Americans and then get back to life. I was least worried (despite the fact that our clients were US based). My mother had even asked me zillion times the status of my job, but all that she heard from me was "I don't know". Life was going at it's own pace until 16th December 2008 arrived.

Cut to 16th December 2008: It was 5.00 in the evening. Happy after discovering that my canteenwala makes awesome adrakwali chai, I settled in my seat to work sincerely. Barely after 20 minutes, my TL came and announced that our boss has told us to assemble in the board room. Within 5 minutes we all quietly assembled in the boardroom awaiting some good news (there were rumours about we getting more projects). Everyone was speculating 'n' no of things (some good, some bad). In few moments my boss entered the room accompanied by the HR manager, VP and the Project Director. The speculations stopped, the board room was quiet (it was like a lull before the storm).

Glancing through all of us, the VP announced that our clients are not keen in renewing the contract and that they are terminating it within 2 months. This meant that we all were loosing our jobs within 2 months. He further added that the resources (its the term used for we human machines) will be kicked out in 3 phases. The baccha party (i.e. the new comers which included me) were the first to go and that we had just 15 days left. There was this uneasy silence around us. Everyone was shocked. I was calm but a quick glance across the room and I saw my bubbly friend hanging her head low coz she wished to pursue her higher studies and it seemed impossible as of now, my confident mentor had a worried expression on his face coz he was the sole earning member of his family, another colleague was shocked coz he has to pay his EMI and he may not have enough money to pay them now. All I could see was that chintamani expression. I could sense the anger, I could sense their restlessness. I felt bad not for myself ( i get easy roti, kapda and makaan) I felt bad for others (for the one's who have to strive hard for their roti, kapda and makaan). After the meeting all that we did was cry, crib, blame and plan our future. I told my family about this and thankfully they supported me fully.

It's been 3 days since this horrific incident took place. There are some who have got over it and are trying to get their life into the track by trying for other jobs and all that, there are some who are still shocked and there are some who are investing their time in speculations and playing blame games. There's too much happening out here. I am right now busy giving pep talks to my friends and making them feel strong. But despite my pep talks...there is still anger, still restlessness and lot of pessimism in the air. Things are not the same anymore...infact people from other teams are treating us like leprosy patients, kind of outcaste or antisocial individuals. Some even had the guts to ask us if there is any vacancy in our team. It feels horrible but then I simply choose to ignore their sadistic humour.

As I said, things are not the same anymore...except for my parents love, my friends support and ofcourse the canteenwala's adrak chai.


Psst: I just hope I get a good job soon coz I dont have enough money to buy my cousin a shaadi kaa gift (if anyone wants to donate money to me, they are free to do so ;-)

Shaadi aur Main?? Abhi nahi...

It was 3 PM, I was busy yawning and typing some crap when suddenly my cell phone farted ( a term used by my ex-office colleagues for phone vibrating). It was a message from one of long lost college friend. The message read that she is getting married in two months and that she wishes to invite me for her wedding. How exciting... I thought, yet another free dinner for me :)

Since past two months, I have been getting atleast 2-3 such 'I am getting married' messages. I have already attended 3 weddings back to back. Almost everyone is of my age (one of my school friend toh has already given birth to a girl). Such news makes me happy. But often I wonder about the pace at which time passes. I mean these are the same girls with whom I used to go to school, wear two ponies and play gudda-guddi, crib about maths and history and giggle and chatter about our never-ending list of crushes ;-)

Today those same girls talk about their daily household chores, giggle about something which their husband told them and crib about their mother-in-laws. And me?? I just nod like a dumb. I don't quite relate to anything that they tell me. It sounds too gibberish and rubbish to me. The same girls who would tell me to look into my books and not boys now tell me to look beyond work and see some guy. They so badly want me to get hitched that they have taken upon them the responsibility of match-making for me (and must tell you...it's scary). But I sweetly give them my 'Thank you, but career is my priority right now' excuses (actually the truth is that I feel marrying at the age of 23 is equivalent to child marriage).

I want to remain spinster for a while. See, the benefits are many: i can get up late and rush to office without the guilt that I did not do my duty towards my husband and in-laws, I can come home late without the guilt that I neglected them, I can afford to take and leave jobs without the guilt that I am affecting someone back home, I can look at that handsome hunk in my office lift daily shamelessly, Best atleast I can afford to burn my toast and roll out srilanka map type rotis without the guilt that I am subjecting my husband to such worse tortures. List is endless...and every point convinces me that I have made a wise decision to remain single for some more time.

Who do I wish to see in power the next year??

I remember 5 years back I had just turned 18 and I voted for a candidate (wont name him) for the first time in my life. I felt so proud of myself that I just could not stop myself from showing off the black ink on my index finger. When the results were declared, I was happy...Congress had won FINALLY. Atleast there shall not be some old men ranting about Hinduism, there would be no Godhara riots, no babri masjid or rath yatra bullshit happening. I was even more excited when I learnt that our PM would be Manmohan Singh ( one of the best economists we have) , I was happy to learn that PC Chidambaram will be our Finance Minister (daddy said he's the best). I thought that the Golden era for India has arrived!!! I thought indeed Congress ka haath hoga aam aadmi ke saath!!!

Four years and seven months have passed, it's time for next elections. In these four odd years India has witnessed many sad incidents. I just do not wish to enlist it coz there's too much to be listed and I have no energy to do so. Manmohan and his cabinet ministers despite being highly educated and all have not delivered much. We all are angry, especially now after the recent Mumbai terror attacks. All of us want a dynamic leader to take charge of our nation. Expectations have increased more after US Presidential elections announced Barack Obama as the next US president. I am still hoping that there would be someone really dynamic coming into power. Here is a list of people who I actually wish to see in power (for some departments I have no choices):

PM: Ratan Tata or Narayan Murthi
Finance Minister: Amartya Sen
Home minister: Kiran Bedi
Defence Minister: I donno probably someone who has been in the defence system (someone who is morally upright and knows the nitty-gritties of the defence force) would be the ideal candidate.
I&B ministry: Can't think of any ideal candidate as of now. But someone as dynamic as Prannoy Roy would do for me.
Railway ministry: I dont want Lalu Prasad Yadav to go coz he has done some good things for railways. I kind of like him.
Health ministry: I have never had issues with Ramadoss so I am ok with him.
HRD: This department needs someone who is fair in making decisions and takes Human Resource (which actually is high in India) seriously. I pray no one like Arjun Singh should get the post.

There are still loads of portfolios to be discussed and I shall keep updating it as and when I can think of suitable candidates for suitable portfolios. Till then it's Tata, bye-bye from me.

Psst: by chance anybody is reading this post wishes to suggest some good candidate for any portfolio...u r free to do so :)

It's not me, but my surging frustration dominating this particular blog...

Today as I continously watched the recent terrorist attacks in mumbai (armed with curd rice and remote control) I just got frustrated. I wanted to go there and help out the innocent victims of these attacks. With the time passing by and new reports cropping up...following were the thoughts that came to my otherwise dead brain:

1. Why is it that the actors-actresses get paid highly when actually the real heroes are our Mumbai police, ATS and the NSG?
2. Why is it that whenever there is a terrorist attack, we conviniently blame the politicans?
3. Why is it that our honourable PM, Sonia Gandhi, RR Patil, Shivraj Patil, Pratibha Patil (the goongi gudiya-2) and BJP's evergreen poster grandpa L.K Advani mouth the same old dialogues about they condemning the terrorist acts and that they will punish the guilty (probnably they forgot that 1993's blast cases are still pending).
4. Why is it that we get 100's of touchy forwarded sms about condemning the barbaric acts and so on (mobile operators kii chandi hee chandi hogi)

I usually get no answers for my never-ending questions. But this time I attempted to talk to paanwala uncle, chaiwala uncle, my 2-3 opinionated friends, my parents and ofcourse a random chat with an unknown person in the northern hemisphere and lastly a self-conversation with myself and guess what I got some valuable and stupid insights on the questions above. After lot of data assimilation and analysis, I have come up with the following answers:

ans 1: Police, ATS, NSG have to get a good salary. They need motivation to work and what better motivation than a good salary and the assurance that their family would be protected even after their death. Infact there should be a policy stating that atleast one person from every house must compulsorily join the defence or the police force. As for actors-actresses getting so highly paid, well that's inevitable...we are the one's who give them fukat bhaav and that in turn encourages them to ask for unbelievable sum (i would call it ransom). The government should seriously review the salary structure of our brave heroes.

ans 2. It's duniya kaa niyam...when there is a crisis, we never blame ourselves...we blame others. In this case we blame the fat, snoring politicians. Are'nt we also equally responsible for all this? We tag our resilient behaviour as a matter of bravery. We should not just bounce back to life as though nothing has happend. We must pressurise the government and everyone concerned to take some bold steps so that our city does not become this vulnerable everytime. And if you think it's impossible...i suggest you give a thought to our freedom struggle or the recent Jessica Lal case. Lil bit pressure and the legal system did it's work. Resiliency is a form of cowardice not bravery. So stop being resilient and stand for your safety.

ans3. everyone wants publicity...why should our politicians remain behind?

ans4. forwarded messages are good (its a way of showing solidarity) but that's just not enough. ans2 needs to be executed if we are so concerned about the city.

Conclusion: It's 12.00 at night...I got to rush to office in the morning (lot of work to do yaar). So Time to Sleeeeeep.

Psst: Did i somewhere mention about resiliency being a form of cowardice and not bravery??? well..with a heavy heart I must admit i am one of those cowards too.

Let Peace Prevail! Jai Hind!

should'nt we opt for agriculture?

Now-a-days newspapers have become a big bore. If front page talks about Pirates of Somalia, then the business section talks about the job-cuts in citi group, while the entertainment section brags about item girls and non-talented actresses getting 1-1.25 crores for dancing (or is it jumping) in the 5-star hotels on 31st dec (hell...i told mummy i want to become an item girl, but no one listens to me) :,(

So frustrated am I after reading the newspaper, that I just had to write it all.

Long ago my geography teacher said: Agriculture is our main occupation. But I hardly get to read about agriculture anywhere. If agriculture is indeed our main occupation, then why is it that vidharba farmers commit suicide every year? why is that we woo foreigners to invest in IT and not in farming? why is it that we have MBA in finance, marketing, HR but MBA in agriculture? never heard of it.

The fact is that despite agriculture being the main occupation (on papers), it's given a step-motherly treatment.

Something tells me that had our nation not opted for 100% industrialization we would have been better off. You know what we should have done ideally...we should have opted for 50% industrialization and 50% agriculture. Give both of it equal treatment, invest equal money on both. Had we done that, there would have been no polarity in the economic status of our nation. Both the rural and urban nations would have equally contributed towards the nation's income and the GDP growth.

I know it sounds impractical. Anyways I am not an economist to speculate on all this. But then as a layman I obviously wish the best for my nation. I believe in Gandhiji's principle of Self-Sufficiency. Had we given equal importance to both- agriculture and industrial growth; had we encouraged some of our elite literate section of the society to take up agriculture (admit it or not, we all feel that farming cannot be an occupation for urban people)...we would have not been in such a sorry state. We would have been self-sufficient in these trying times, we would have atleast been able to fend for ourselves (who knows could have been annadattas for other countries too). Would we have not been in the list of first world countries? Would we not have had the option of alternative career had we lost our jobs?

O.k enough of my speculations...I dont think it makes too much of sense to talk about agriculture and all during a time when there is economic and natural disasters enveloping us all.

Ten things to do before I die...

'Death' one of the most natural process of a human life is often feared by all of us. My dad says: Death is the most beautiful thing to happen. I disagree. I believe that god has given us a life and we must respect his gift by using it (not abusing it) to the fullest. Live life like as if there's no tomorrow; I have heard this for the nth time by 'n' no of people (who by the way lead the same dull life like me).

Bored of my daily routine, I decided to go and watch Dasvidaniya (a vinay pathak phillum). The film managed to make me shed some tears. why? coz i realized that I am already dead and am not enjoying anything. I get up, have breakfast, read the sad newspaper, give dad his medicines, take bath and go to office with a half latkaoed chehra, come back, have dinner and gossip with my mom (much to my dad's irritation).

Well back to the phillum, it was about a middle-aged man who is about to die in three months and he decides to do 10 things that he always wanted to do in his entire life but could not (courtesy: a mechanical life). After watching the movie...I went into a state of introspection. I wanted to make my '10 things to do before I die' list. Here it goes:

1. I want to quit my present job and do something that I love to do the most i.e. writting crap :D
2. I want to go to Siachen glacier once before I die. Want to know how the jawans survive in such high altitudes.
3. I want to film a story that I had conceptualized well while sitting in the loo :P
4. I want to sit on an elephant and sing aloud "chal chal chal mere haathi oh mere saathi"
5. I want to gift sangi a pug (she adores that dog like anything) :)
6. I want to take daddy and mummy to US (they are just crazy about that place, donno why)
7. I want to buy a diamond ring for my sister in law and buy my brother tickets for a Megadeth or Metallica rock concert.
8. I want to arrange a bachelors party+ fund a trip to Russia for one of my close friend on his b'day.
9. I would love to adopt a girl child and mould her into a strong and beautiful woman.
10. Lastly, I want to spend last years of my years in solitude, introspecting about what good or bad things I did. Try to undo my bad actions and continue doing good deeds.

I do not know when I would start off with my list. But surely, I will start acting on it. I don't want to ignore the beauty of life and get engrossed and tied up in the mundane activities of life. I am keen on living life like there is no tomorrow and I think I am ready for it!!!

I miss my praxis friends :(

29th October 2007, that was my first day in Praxis. Praxis Interactive Technologies; I would not call it an ideal IT company or anything but yes I managed to make some really great friends out there. Today as I sit in my current organization, almost cursing myself for taking up a wrong job (yet again), I wish to reminisce about Praxis (my first real job).

I miss a lot of things in Praxis:

I miss my gang of gals (everyone had such peculiar yet positive characteristics that no one could dare hate us). We would bitch about our seniors, PM, salary, CEO...almost everyone :-) My friends were so outgoing and so funny that for the first time I felt that not all girls are those behenji types (you know those sad females whose world revolves around only khana banana, bacche sambhalna and all that). Most importantly like me everyone believed that so far as you let others live, you can live your life the way you want and not the way others want you to lead.

I miss Praxis coz half the time I would be on bench and could catch up on several girly books (courtesy: my entertainment guruji).

I miss Praxis coz though the PMs were no good people, they atleast gave us girls the freedom to go downstairs around anytime and have chai. You did not have to take permission from your boss to do go downstairs just as I need to do here. UFF!

I miss Praxis coz we had some awesome ID training sessions, wherein, I could snore and yawn to glory without anybody raising any objections.

I miss my tapriwala (har dard kii ek davaa tapri chai), there's no one here to make such awesome chai.

I could be loud, I could be silly, I could be myself out there. Here, I gotto talk in the lowest possible tone...I gotto 'bear' (yes, I know it sounds harsh but it's true) some real idiotic females (those behenji types who neither live nor let live), worse you need to take permission to go downstairs at 5.00 in the evening (thankfully i need not take permission to visit the loo). I feel miserable. I almost work like a machine and walk like a zombie, I have lost all my motivation to work or move ahead in the rat race.

Sometimes, I yearn to be with my friends...gossping, bitching and sharing our stories over a cup of chai etc...I want to feel like a human asap! I hope that moment comes soon!

psst: the only good thing here is that I can write a blog whenever I want to, which was not possible in Praxis :)

One year gone and still don't know my destination...

I really envy my cousins and some of my college colleagues. I wonder how are they so clear about what they want and dont want in life. I wonder how on the earth do they like their job and how is it that they stick there for more than a year? Seriously I envy them and sometimes wish that even I should stay a bit committed to my new job.

But guess what...fourth job within a year and a half and I am already bored. It's been just 3 months since I joined my new job and I have already started hating it. Despite the fact that my office is close to my home, I get a decent pay and good designation...I am not enjoying it at all. I feel like a machine...producing same old stuff in the same old manner. I need variations...I want to venture into many zones (some conventional and some unconventional). I want to be a film-maker, a hard core journalist or an entrepreneur. I want to be an Ambani, no wait...how about a Laxmi Mittal or noooo....probably a Warren buffett. See I cant even decide on my role model or what I want to become. That's exactly how confused and undecided I am by nature. I feel like a nomad belonging to the stone age era.

I don't know if there are others who are as confused as me. If there are then I bet on reading my blog...they would feel assured that they are not alone and if there are not then I guess I am the only 'different' person existing on this planet which anyways makes me feel like some extra-terrestrial animal from some other planet.

My top 10 favorite songs.

As said before, researchers say that music has the ability to rekindle your old memories. I truely vouch for this study coz whatever I am enlisting below are songs that still manage to make me feel happy, motivated or even sad.

Song no.10: Tere Bina Zindagi se koi (film: Aandhi). I heard this song for the first time when I was in 12th standard and instantly got hooked to it. No specific memory associated to it, but I just love it for it's melody.

Song no. 9: Aashayein (film: Iqbal). I was having a bad time at Star Plus office. I was truely bored of my job and was feeling defeated. one evening as I was travelling back home, I heard this song and you wont believe this, I actually felt good and motivated enough to move ahead in life. Awesome lyrics and awesome music...this song will remain one of my all time favourites.

Song no. 8: Preeti Sagar's nursery Rhymes. As a kid my favorite pass time I guess was to fall ill. Whenever I would fall sick, my brother or mom would put on preeti Sagar's nursery rhymes and believe it or not...i would manage to sleep well after listening to it.

Song no. 7: Taaye Yashoda (sung by Yesudas I think). It's a tamil song about women complaining to Yashoda maiyya about her natkhat nandalal. Very sweet song. No specific memory associated...it's just a song that I have heard as a kid and still hum when I am happy.

Song no. 6: Tanhai (film: Dil Chahta Hain). I must have heard this song like for 100 times when the phillum got released. Just loved sonu's voice in this song.

Song no.5: Pal (sung by: KK). The song I bet must be played during every farewell party. Firstly KK has sung it so well and secondly it reminds me of my graduation days that were filled with loads of sweet memories.

Song no.4: Yaaron Dosti (sung by: KK). Yet another song from KK. I keep singing this when I remember my best friend Sangi who stays some kilometers away from me and is not reachable thanks to the phone bills that she never pays.

Song no.3: It's my life (sung by: Bon Jovi). I have too many aspirations in life. Before listening to this song, I used to do nothing but just ponder over what I must do and what I should not do. I was driven by social norms. One day a radio station played this song, I found the tune quite catchy. I downloaded the song the very next week, and heard it along with the lyrics. My interpretation of the song is...it's your life and you are not going to live forever...so just stop pondering and LIVE YOUR LIFE!!!

Song no.2: Sunscreen Song. My brother had sent me this . I liked it so much...now it has become like a bible/bhagwat gita for me. It tells you how to lead your life and what you should and should not do. Very good must say...though it does not sound too peppy.

Song no. 1: Bharat Humko Jaan se bhi pyaara hain + Bombay Theme. If it's AR Rahman, it has to be memorable. It's been 12 years since I heard this song. It's still fresh in my mind. even now, when a news channel covers a news on Bomb blasts etc...they do not fail to play the Bombay theme music in the background. I just love them both.

These are the top 10 songs that i truely love and will remain my all time favorites forever.

Long Live Music...Long Live Music Therapy!!!

Music, The Great Elixir of life...

I was flipping through the 'Brunch' magazine that comes every sunday with Hindustan Times. Today the cover story of Brunch discussed about the role played by music in rekindling some old (bitter and sweet) memories that we bury or forget as we move ahead in life. The writer had interviewed nine well-known celebrities about the songs that rekindles their past memories.

How I wish they had interviewed me too...coz I have not one but ten top songs that brings back some good and bad memories of my 22 years on planet earth. I shall enlist those ten songs here and also explain what kind of memory do i associate with that particular song. But before that I want to tell you the importance of music in my or for that matter everyone's life.

Music, according to me is the best healer when in pain and a positive addiction when life seems unfair to you. Forget drugs, sutta or daru, turn on the music and see what miracles it does to you. I am highly addicted to music. While solving my maths problems, while going through a rough patch in my Junior College, or while falling...music was and still remains my best friend. I need not pour out my heart to anyone...I just need to put on the music and get immersed into the world of melody.

I am not a true music aficionado, I do not follow a particular genre of music. For me anything that sounds appealing to my ears is a good music. Whether it's my mom crooning preeti sagar's nursery rhymes for me as a kid or the foot tapping numbers of RD Burman or the high pitched Rahat Fateh Ali Khan singing Bolna Halke Halke...anything that appeals to my ears is music for me.

Now enough of bakwaas...I am enlisting my top ten favorite songs in the next blog. These songs I tell you will remain my all time favorites till the time I breathe my last breath (yucks...what melodramatic statements I make).

A must watch video for all those who hated Education

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=2VUhoD3vM9Q
We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teacher leave them kids alone
Hey! Teacher! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teacher leave them kids alone
Hey! Teacher! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.(All in all you're just) another brick in the wall.

We don't need no educationWe don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teacher leave them kids alone
We don't need no education...

My Brother Strongest :)

It's Raksha Bandhan today and like every year, I shall become extra sentimental about my siddhu bhai.

Siddhu bhai (I started putting that 'bhai' suffix only after he got married) is more of a guardian than a brother. Unlike other bhai-behens...I and my brother never fight. We never pull each other's hair and never do chamchagiri about each other to our mom and dad. The only thing for which we ever fought for was a softie pillow that we both loved :-D. My bhai is the coolest bhai on this earth.

I must also admit that my brother has been one of the greatest influence in my life. Whether it's my independent streak, my level headedness, my favourite colours or even my favourite book...I can proudly say that my brother has passed them on to me consciously or unconsciously.

As a kid, I was not too attached to my brother. My brother being 8 years elder to me; I would interact with him only when I was stuck with some maths problem or when I needed his help to complete my science journals.

But I seriously started understanding my brother's importance only after he got married. After his marriage, I started wondering if my brother would remain the same old protective brother that he was before his marriage? I would miss him when I could not garner any support from anyone for arguing with my dad, I would miss him when I would see the empty bed on which he used to sleep, I would miss him when I would long for a drive till south Mumbai on a dull saturday night, I would miss him when I had no one to give me detailed description about the new restaraunt in Mumbai or some new dish that he must have tried sometime. Yes, I missed him a lot despite the fact that he lived just 20 minutes away from my residence.

This had taught me a new lesson for life and that was 'Spend as much time as possible with your near and dear ones'. Today it's been two and a half years since my brother has got married. I have got use to being a single child in the family. I guess I have become more mature and more independent now.

Things are changing for better now...but there's one thing which has never changed and that's my brother's protective avtaar :)

The ground reality...

Picture this: Its vacation time, the gullis and the building compounds look like a cricket or a soccer ground. The kids are engrossed in their games, aping their favorite players and trying to recreate the magic of the game in a constricted space. Suddenly one of them hits a major ‘Shot’ or a ‘Goal’ and there goes the ball hitting either a person or a flower-pot or window panes; and thus begins a huge show-down between the children and the person concerned.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Sadly this is the scenario everywhere. I remember my grandmother once narrating her childhood stories. She had said that her childhood days were filled with fun and innocence and that there were absolutely no playing restrictions whatsoever. “We would run in those large, paddy fields; play hide and seek and many more games” she would say. “But now children have no place to play”, she added remorsefully. “Yes”, I nodded in approval.

What my grandmother said was absolutely true. There seems to be no free space left for the children to play. Let’s face this: Mumbai is an island that has been used and perhaps over-used beyond limits. The builders and the BMC just do not have a plan for the city’s infrastructure. Today there is only handful of playgrounds in Mumbai. The proliferation of buildings has left no open spaces for anyone to play.
The builders smartly allocated a space for a small landscaped garden with slides and swings for children. But that’s for the toddlers or a kindergarten child. Children grow off it by the age of nine or ten; what they need is a proper medium to channelize their excess of energy which they do not get. The residents of these new buildings are promised ample parking space but never are they promised ample playing space. Some may suggest that a membership in some clubs can ensure proper channelization of energy in children. But not every child can afford to seek membership in such clubs.

Parents and Health Experts lament that kids are growing obese because they eat loads of junk stuff and spend their time playing games on the computer. Can we blame the child? No. At least online world provides them with a feel of the real game, which the small lanes do not provide. No, I am not professing the idea of playing online games instead of playing on the field. What I am trying to point out is that it’s high time that the kids are given a medium to channelize their bottled-up energy through rough outdoor games before it becomes latent.

पानी पानी रे...

This is a very serious issue that I wish to raise. The issue is water shortage!!!
This is surprising. My geography teacher taught us that 79% of planet earth is covered by water and the rest of 21% by land. If that's true then why is it that we face shortage of water? Why is it that two states (read it as: Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) fight over a Cauvery river? Why is it that daily Vidarbha farmers commit suicide because they do not have enough facilities to do agriculture?

Questions are many...but unfortunately answer is none. Every summer we read about the grim situation of watersupply. Every year the water tax increases. I fail to understand that why an element like water that is supposed to be in abundance has become a matter of concern. Probably the reason lies in the haphazard planning done by the builders, city architects and ofcourse the government babus. Reclamation may be the order of the day in the city but what they fail to understand is that by doing so they are actually depriving many others from the planet's most important source.

Why just reclamation...even we ourseleves tend to waste water unconsciously. I do that too considering we have 24 hours water supply. But a single day spent in a place without water taught me the importance of this great elixir of life.

I indeed hope that people shall share my concern and ensure that water is not wasted in any way. This is an urgent issue that calls in for urgent precautionary measures. A small precautionary measure from all of us can enable the ratio of water:land to remain the same...

Amen!

The first poem I ever wrote...

As a kid I always wished to join the Defence System. But saala height aur weight se maar kha gayi. So I had no option but take up something where my thin frame would not pose an issue. I still harbour great respect for the Defence System and always secretly wish to marry a Army guy ;-)
Anyways back to the poem. We had a subject called 'Radio andTV' in BMM. As a part of an assignment, we were told to make promotional campaigns for any topic that was close to our heart and create a talk show for the topic. Since I am curious about the Defence System and their secrets, I thought of a concept where I would grill the Army officers and others from a particular contigency and get the real story out of them. for this purpose I made this poem and used it as a spot for the publicity of my imaginary show. My professor loved the poem (though i donoo why)...anyways even I was proud of my first poem, so I thought of putting it up on the blog :-)

In snow-clad mountains they fight,
Under a cozy quilt we sleep tight,
When they battle they know no day no night,
As they strive to make our day beautiful and bright,
If for them, every day is a step towards grave,
Then should we not remember the brave?
If dying for the motherland is their duty,
Then in respecting their service lies our humane beauty,
So let’s together hear out the Indian Army lore’s,
As it will be sung by our unsung heroes.

-Gayathri

Why that song inspired me so much...

I am not a Bon Jovi fan...but this song had hit me at the right time.

To begin with, I have been brought up in a conservative South Indian family, where everyone of us chose to thread a safe and conventional path. Be it career, marriage or anything...we always took the safe path. My parents never really enjoyed life. They probably never understood the true essence of life. At every phase they have sacrificed their desires for the sake of others. In a nutshell, they are living a life full of compromises.

I do agree that sometimes compromises needs to be made to make relationships and situations work. But then kab tak? I have seen my close ones- be it my parents, my brother or my close friends making compromises to make life easier. But the million dollar question is: Are they happy with their decision? I bet they are not.

All my minute observations coupled with Bon Jovi's song has brought me to a conclusion that I need to live my life to the fullest coz life is short. I ain't gonna live forever...I just want to live while I'm alive...coz IT'S MY LIFE!!!

This song inspired me!!!

This ain't a song for the broken-hearted
No silent prayer for the faith-departed
I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd
You're gonna hear my voice When I shout it out loud

[Chorus:]It's my life It's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
It's my life...
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said I did it my way
I just wanna live while I'm alive
It's my life...

This is for the ones who stood their ground
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down
Tomorrow's getting harder make no mistake
Luck ain't even lucky Got to make your own breaks

[Chorus:]It's my life And it's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
It's my life...
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said I did it my way
I just want to live while I'm alive
'Cause it's my life...
Better stand tall when they're calling you out
Don't bend, don't break, baby, don't back down

[Chorus:]
It's my life
And it's now or never
'Cause I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
It's my life...
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said I did it my way
I just want to live while I'm alive
[Chorus:]
It's my life...
And it's now or never
'Cause I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
It's my life...
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said I did it my way
I just want to live while I'm alive'
Cause it's my life!

Mumbai-RAJ!!!

Aha...so finally Raj Thackrey is threading the path that his uncle had set out three decades back. The 'marathi manoos' campaign is back!!! I wonder what happend to their party's manifesto during BMC elections. I remember Raj said that Mumbai is a metropolitan city and that everyone living here is a maharashtrian. He claimed that he wont commit the mistake that his uncle did. But as they say change is the only constant thing in life. So with the change in time, MNS policies also underwent a huge change. Now even he is equally into bhagoing bhaiyyas and biharis. O.K accepted that mumbai is being exploited beyond capacity and that the other states are doing nothing about improving their infrastructure or providing jobs for their people. But does that mean kii you shoo away everyone from here? Does mr. Raj Thackrey know that probably the doodh that his milkman provides is from a tabela managed by a bhaiyya? Does he know that the tasty dishes that he eats is mostly sold by these bhaiyyas? Does he know that it is these gujju's who make Mumbai the finanical hub of the nation? He knows all that...but yet he will make baseless comments, create confusion in the city and hit the headlines for a week or so. Yes he got a good publicity...probably will win votes from some loyal fans too. But then to what effect? Nashik's industries are already facing the brunt for this foolish attack. They are now running into loss coz all the bhaiyyas and biharis have run back to their hometown or hiding near shirdi. What Raj ideally should have done was sit together with the central government and discuss few plans to seek solution to this problem. But since politics is all about shoo-shaa and publicity, I really cannot expect Raj Thackrey to do that.

I dont know what's going to happen to my city. Despite being a south-indian, I am so much in love with Mumbai that I cant imagine myself settling anywhere outside Mumbai. I hope and sincerely pray that a decent solution comes out of this messy situation and my city is saved from further disgrace. And yes my mom hopes that Big B does not leave the industry on bhai Amar Singh's advice.

Song from me: Hey dil hain muskil hain jeena yahaan...yeh hain bambai yeh hain bambai, yeh hain bambai meri jaan

Praxis kii kahani...meri zubaani

Yeh hain meri kahani, praxian kii zubaani...sab mujhse keh rahe hain....kyun timepass kar rahi hain...

first job kii kahani...meri hee zubaani...har review badh raha hain...nervousness chad raha hain...

sothe jaagtey yaadon mein MSL dikhtaa hain...neend aa jaye toh tapri chai biktaa hain...

bas yeh meri kahaani...praxian kii zubani...har review badh raha hain...nervousness chad raha hain...

sothe jaagtey yaadon mein MSL dikhtaa hain...neend aa jaye toh tapri chai biktaa hain...

Ab naa koi kaam hain...naahi bug fixing hain...facebook mein uljhi padee...jeene ke yahin aas hain...projects mein uljhe hain log...kya karoon bolo naa dost...

sothe jaagtey yaadon mein MSL dikhtaa hain...neend aa jaye toh tapri chai biktaa hain...

( you will understand this if you sing it in the tune of 'yeh hain meri kahaani' from Zinda)

Asatyameva Fourth Estate...

I sometimes yell at myself for having opted Journalism as my major for graduation. Three years utopian concepts like:

• Ethics
• Creativity
• Honesty
• Objectivity

were taught to us. But now that I am out of this pakao graduation kii duniya, I wonder which of these bashans have really been executed in the real world? come to think of it, none of this has been executed. Creativity toh durr kii baat, yahaan toh the news are presented in such a dramatic manner that it looks similar to Ekta Kapoor's saas-bahu soaps. Infact i would say that no one can fabricate a story the way TV channels and Tabloids do. Commercialization seems to have given way to fabricated stories and kiddish sting operations and the one validating my point is none other the famous newswala Rajdeep Sardesai. I remember him saying last year that commercialization has become a priority for the news channels, as high salary is the only motivational factor for the young journalists who do not mind working on brainless stories. Add to this, we also have the political organizations and corporate houses running the media houses, which explains the biased news stories being published in a newspaper. And if you thought that only newspapers and news channels are unethical then i am afraid to say that internet is not far either. On the contrary spreading abusive and provocative news is easier through internet as the anonymity of the writer can be maintained, which makes it more dangerous.

I seriously miss those days when I and my parents watched Barkha Dutt giving minute by minute covergae about the Kargil war. I also remember the Operation West End by Tehelka editor in chief- Tarun Tejpal (infact that was when I desired to take up journalism). But sadly Satya kii yahaan koi jeet nahi hothi, hence Tarun Tejpal is not seen too much, neither do I see the bold characteristic of Barkha Dutt now. I don't know if the fourth estate would continue to look after its commercial purposes. I just hope that it does not become as jittery and as scary as the other three estates.